javahut
500+ Head-Fier
OK... I finally did it.
I've been using Sony EX71s since I first got my Archos Studio 20 back in Feb '02. I've been pretty happy with them considering the price. They sounded better than I expected for a little portable player. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. However, once I'd heard about the Etymotic ER4Ps, I was curious about what they would sound like with the Archos.
The 71s have been slowly but surely going downhill lately. The low end is getting looser and distorts more easily than it used to. So I've been researching and reading comments on various canal phones here on the forum. When the ER6 came out, I thought "great... now I can finally afford to try out the Etymotics". But after reading many of the reviews I found myself being persuaded to go ahead and spend a little more to get something I would really like and could live with.
So, I sprang for the ER4Ps. They arrived, and I quickly plugged them in and gave them a spin. Man, the high end and especially the midrange just sound so clear with these phones. The midrange just seems almost "creamy" on some stuff... like Peter Kruder's “Peace Orchestra”... some of the mids and highs just seemed to drip out of the phones and in to my head. However, while the low end was very tight and present on certain recordings, on others, I had to really crank the EQ to get even close to the sort of low end I wanted to hear. So while I could hear the lows and they were extremely defined, on some things... particularly many older recordings, the Archos EQ just couldn't make up for the low end that was lacking in the recording and from the ER4Ps. Even on some newer recordings... such as Marc Ribot's "Scelsi Morning" (a noise and tone workout), the ER4Ps made the whole recording just sound rather harsh and irritating, where I'd previously heard warm lows and mids with the EX71s.
By this point, I'd been reading about the Shure E5Cs. Even though the ER4Ps at first seemed to be priced over what I wanted to spend, now that I'd spent $250 on them, $500 for the E5s started to not seem like so much if they were worth it. I started thinking incessantly about the E5Cs. From the reviews I'd read, it seemed like they'd be exactly what I wanted. But I already had the ER4Ps... should I send them back and get the E5s? Or be happy with the ER4s? What the heck... I was still within the return period for the ER4s. I ordered the E5s so I could compare them side by side.
My comparison won't be as long as the one posted previously in another thread because, in general, I think that one is right on the money. The E5s seem to have much more dynamic response... the sound stage seems bigger and fuller, and most importantly... all the lows I was missing from the ER4Ps are present and accounted for with the E5s. And while the highs and mids are not as noticebly pronounced as in the ER4s, I, too, think it's the result of the overall sound of the E5s being more balanced. So much so that after listening to the ER4s again after the E5s, the ER4s seem to be abnormally hyped in the mid and highs... they seem harsh on a lot of stuff. And some things were just unlistenable on the ER4Ps due to the lack of low end. Also, after comparing to the E5s, the ER4s seem to have much less separation and the soundstage seems more compressed.
The E5s have a super clean and defined hi and mid range. But they also really shine in the low end. The have all the low end ooomph! for listening to bass heavy music like dub & electronica, and the lows are crystal clear and present for acoustic jazz, as well. And if you run across some material that seems to be lacking in the low end, with a little EQ bump they have plenty enough low end to make up for it. Also, the E5s are way more efficient than the ER4s. My previous Sony EX71s had to run at about a volume between 65-80 out of 100 on the Archos, and would begin to distort. The ER4Ps could get the same volume in the 55-70 range (but with 0 distortion). The E5's output is so strong I need to turn down to the mid 40s sometimes, and rarely above 55.
The E5s are heaven! These things definitely make a lot of difference, even on 192kbps MP3s. I can't wait to listen to them every day. They're comfortable. The tri-flanged tip really seals the ear canal easily and very well. They're very well built... much more heavy duty than the ER4s, without any extra weight that I can perceive. My Amon Tobin and Kruder & Dorfmeister sound incredible on them... and so does Kenny Garrett and the Pat Metheny Trio... and so does my old remastered Todd Rundgren "Intitiation"... as does everything! I only have one disagreement to the question posed by the previous poster… "Are the E5Cs twice as good as the ER4Ps?" And my answer is emphatically "yes". The E5s sound incredible in every aspect and seem to be missing nothing. The ER4s are missing too much, almost enough to say that they're not really worth even half the price of the E5s. And as good as the ER4s seemingly hyped mids & highs sound on some recordings, that same characteristic in combination with the missing lows makes some of my favorite recordings unlistenable without some major EQ. So my opinion is, if you're thinking about spending as much as $250 on canal phones, you might as well go all the way and spring for the E5s. They're truly amazing... near reference quality for a portable music system. Again, I agree with the previous review… while the ER4s seem like a clinical tool, the E5s seem like a well-crafted musical instrument.
I've been using Sony EX71s since I first got my Archos Studio 20 back in Feb '02. I've been pretty happy with them considering the price. They sounded better than I expected for a little portable player. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality. However, once I'd heard about the Etymotic ER4Ps, I was curious about what they would sound like with the Archos.
The 71s have been slowly but surely going downhill lately. The low end is getting looser and distorts more easily than it used to. So I've been researching and reading comments on various canal phones here on the forum. When the ER6 came out, I thought "great... now I can finally afford to try out the Etymotics". But after reading many of the reviews I found myself being persuaded to go ahead and spend a little more to get something I would really like and could live with.
So, I sprang for the ER4Ps. They arrived, and I quickly plugged them in and gave them a spin. Man, the high end and especially the midrange just sound so clear with these phones. The midrange just seems almost "creamy" on some stuff... like Peter Kruder's “Peace Orchestra”... some of the mids and highs just seemed to drip out of the phones and in to my head. However, while the low end was very tight and present on certain recordings, on others, I had to really crank the EQ to get even close to the sort of low end I wanted to hear. So while I could hear the lows and they were extremely defined, on some things... particularly many older recordings, the Archos EQ just couldn't make up for the low end that was lacking in the recording and from the ER4Ps. Even on some newer recordings... such as Marc Ribot's "Scelsi Morning" (a noise and tone workout), the ER4Ps made the whole recording just sound rather harsh and irritating, where I'd previously heard warm lows and mids with the EX71s.
By this point, I'd been reading about the Shure E5Cs. Even though the ER4Ps at first seemed to be priced over what I wanted to spend, now that I'd spent $250 on them, $500 for the E5s started to not seem like so much if they were worth it. I started thinking incessantly about the E5Cs. From the reviews I'd read, it seemed like they'd be exactly what I wanted. But I already had the ER4Ps... should I send them back and get the E5s? Or be happy with the ER4s? What the heck... I was still within the return period for the ER4s. I ordered the E5s so I could compare them side by side.
My comparison won't be as long as the one posted previously in another thread because, in general, I think that one is right on the money. The E5s seem to have much more dynamic response... the sound stage seems bigger and fuller, and most importantly... all the lows I was missing from the ER4Ps are present and accounted for with the E5s. And while the highs and mids are not as noticebly pronounced as in the ER4s, I, too, think it's the result of the overall sound of the E5s being more balanced. So much so that after listening to the ER4s again after the E5s, the ER4s seem to be abnormally hyped in the mid and highs... they seem harsh on a lot of stuff. And some things were just unlistenable on the ER4Ps due to the lack of low end. Also, after comparing to the E5s, the ER4s seem to have much less separation and the soundstage seems more compressed.
The E5s have a super clean and defined hi and mid range. But they also really shine in the low end. The have all the low end ooomph! for listening to bass heavy music like dub & electronica, and the lows are crystal clear and present for acoustic jazz, as well. And if you run across some material that seems to be lacking in the low end, with a little EQ bump they have plenty enough low end to make up for it. Also, the E5s are way more efficient than the ER4s. My previous Sony EX71s had to run at about a volume between 65-80 out of 100 on the Archos, and would begin to distort. The ER4Ps could get the same volume in the 55-70 range (but with 0 distortion). The E5's output is so strong I need to turn down to the mid 40s sometimes, and rarely above 55.
The E5s are heaven! These things definitely make a lot of difference, even on 192kbps MP3s. I can't wait to listen to them every day. They're comfortable. The tri-flanged tip really seals the ear canal easily and very well. They're very well built... much more heavy duty than the ER4s, without any extra weight that I can perceive. My Amon Tobin and Kruder & Dorfmeister sound incredible on them... and so does Kenny Garrett and the Pat Metheny Trio... and so does my old remastered Todd Rundgren "Intitiation"... as does everything! I only have one disagreement to the question posed by the previous poster… "Are the E5Cs twice as good as the ER4Ps?" And my answer is emphatically "yes". The E5s sound incredible in every aspect and seem to be missing nothing. The ER4s are missing too much, almost enough to say that they're not really worth even half the price of the E5s. And as good as the ER4s seemingly hyped mids & highs sound on some recordings, that same characteristic in combination with the missing lows makes some of my favorite recordings unlistenable without some major EQ. So my opinion is, if you're thinking about spending as much as $250 on canal phones, you might as well go all the way and spring for the E5s. They're truly amazing... near reference quality for a portable music system. Again, I agree with the previous review… while the ER4s seem like a clinical tool, the E5s seem like a well-crafted musical instrument.
